Many medications need to be administered by needle, which can be a fearful experience for patients, particularly children. During certain medical or dental procedures, behaviour and anxiety can be managed through administration of such medications, however, the typical route of administration, namely by needle, can itself cause significant anxiety.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,696,637 describes a transdermal patch for delivering a controlled volume of a fluidic drug compound to skin. More particularly, the patch contains a microneedle assembly that is configured to be placed in fluid communication with a drug delivery assembly. The microneedle assembly contains a support and a plurality of microneedles that extend outwardly from the support. The microneedles are formed with one or more channels of a certain dimension such that passive capillary flow drives a flow of the drug compound. The drug delivery assembly contains a reservoir for the drug compound that is in fluid communication with a rate control membrane that helps control a flow rate of the drug compound by modulating the pressure of the drug compound, downstream from the reservoir. A release member is also positioned adjacent to the microneedle and drug delivery assemblies. Prior to use, the release member acts as a barrier to the flow of the drug compound and thus inhibits premature leakage. In this manner, the patch can initially be provided in an “inactive” configuration in which the drug compound is securely retained. When it is desired to release the drug compound, the patch can simply be activated by at least partially separating the release member from the drug delivery and microneedle assemblies.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,707 describes simple microneedle devices for delivery of drugs across or into biological tissue, which permit drug delivery at clinically relevant rates across or into skin or other tissue barriers, with minimal or no damage, pain, or irritation to the tissue. The devices include a substrate to which a plurality of hollow microneedles are attached or integrated, and at least one reservoir, containing the drug, selectably in communication with the microneedles, wherein the volume or amount of drug to be delivered can be selectively altered. The reservoir can be formed of a deformable, preferably elastic, material. The device typically includes a means, such as a plunger, for compressing the reservoir to drive the drug from the reservoir through the microneedles. In one embodiment, the reservoir is a syringe or pump connected to the substrate.
There is a need for alternative devices and methods to overcome or mitigate at least some of the deficiencies of the prior art.